Introduce this lesson: (modify introduction if you did not teach
lesson 3) “I expect that you are remembering to wash your hands—just
like we did in our last lesson. Raise both your hands to take a look
at
them. It feels good to keep clean, doesn't it? When we keep our hands
clean, we help keep ourselves well. We keep the "bad" bacteria
from making us sick. When do we wash our hands?” (Have students, in turn, read from board:

After using the bathroom.

Before eating or drinking.

Before preparing food.

After touching a pet.

After coughing or sneezing (remember the
Panther picnic) into our hands or blowing our nose.

After touching
a cut.

After playing outside.

After touching raw or uncooked meat,
fish, or poultry.)

“Today we are going to discuss food safety when we go to
the grocery store and when we put groceries away. We will visit
the second
and third floors of our FOOD SAFETY HOUSE when we talk about what to
do when we are in the grocery store and what to do
when we put the groceries away at home. We re going to be 'food
safety smart.' We
will also see a video that helps us understand more
about safe food storage. We have a lot to do!”

activity 1

State:“I'd like to show you a few grocery items that I've
saved. How are these items alike? (Damaged, open bags, dented or swollen cans)
Do you think your family should buy these items at the grocery store?”

Discuss why we do not purchase damaged grocery items and solicit
from students other items not to purchase—such as foods
that should be refrigerated or frozen that have been left in
places
they do not belong, such as a package of meat found in the canned
vegetable aisle. Try to illicit how wasteful and discourteous
it is to put something in a grocery store where it does not belong—rather
than taking it back where you found it or to the check-out clerk
to decide where it should be returned.

activity 2

State:“When you are at the check-out counter
of the grocery store next time, I want you to be a 'food safety
detective.' Watch
what the food packer
does with your family's groceries. Here are some rules that
should be followed: (Place on board)

Pack cold foods in one bag.

Pack foods like hamburger and
raw chicken in a separate bag.”

Discuss:
Invite the students to suggest why these rules need to be followed
(bacteria grow if there is warmth and moisture—pack
foods that need to be kept cold in the same bag. Pack foods
that
might drip
[such as raw meat] in a separate bag, to keep them from dripping
on other foods.)

activity 3

Share with students:“Now we have our groceries home. Now
it is time to help our family put the groceries away so they are
safe. We put groceries away
carefully so that 'bad' bacteria does not increase and make us sick. Can anyone
suggest which foods are put away first?” (Bologna,
cheese, milk, chicken, hamburger—these are the foods that
must be kept cold so "bad" bacteria will not grow as
fast.)

State:“Here is a rule to remember: 'Place it food safety smart.' What
do you think that rule means?” (Discuss why raw meat or poultry
is put
on a paper towel or clean plate on the bottom shelf of the
refrigerator—to
help these foods from dripping on others! These foods may have "bad" bacteria,
before cooking, that will drip on other foods and make us sick.)

Say:“Remember, too, when handling raw meat
to wash your hands. Lots of rules! But they are easy rules and
will keep the whole family
well.”

closure

Summarize by saying:“You are 'food safety smart students'—you know that cold
food should be packed in a separate bag at the grocery store, that
it
should go in the refrigerator right away. You know that meats and
poultry need special care--store them on the bottom shelf of the
refrigerator with a plate or paper towel to catch drips. Why?” (Ask
the students) “You are again reminded
that all your family members need to wash their hands to keep the
family safe from 'bad'
bacteria
getting into the family's food.”

integration ideas

Students who are computer literate can check the following
web sites for more information about food safety:

These students can be asked to share new information with students
in their class.

The school's food service director can be asked
to speak to the class about how food for the school's food service
is stored. Ask the
director to discuss the storing of both perishable and dry foods (insects
and mice pry on dry foods and carry germs).